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Matthew 27:1-31 – Jesus Condemned By Pilate

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This passage is as follows:

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When morning came, all the chief priests and the elders of the people took counsel against Jesus to put him to death.  And they bound him and led him away and delivered him over to Pilate the governor.

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Then when Judas, his betrayer, saw that Jesus was condemned, he changed his mind and brought back the thirty pieces of silver to the chief priests and the elders, saying, “I have sinned by betraying innocent blood.” They said, “What is that to us?  See to it yourself.”  And throwing down the pieces of silver into the temple, he departed, and he went and hanged himself.  But the chief priests, taking the pieces of silver, said, “It is not lawful to put them into the treasury, since it is blood money.”  So they took counsel and bought with them the potter's field as a burial place for strangers.  Therefore that field has been called the Field of Blood to this day.  Then was fulfilled what had been spoken by the prophet Jeremiah, saying, “And they took the thirty pieces of silver, the price of him on whom a price had been set by some of the sons of Israel, and they gave them for the potter's field, as the Lord directed me.”

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Now Jesus stood before the governor, and the governor asked him, “Are you the King of the Jews?” Jesus said, “You have said so.”  But when he was accused by the chief priests and elders, he gave no answer.  Then Pilate said to him, “Do you not hear how many things they testify against you?”  But he gave him no answer, not even to a single charge, so that the governor was greatly amazed.

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Now at the feast the governor was accustomed to release for the crowd any one prisoner whom they wanted.  And they had then a notorious prisoner called Barabbas.  So when they had gathered, Pilate said to them, “Whom do you want me to release for you: Barabbas, or Jesus who is called Christ?”  For he knew that it was out of envy that they had delivered him up.  Besides, while he was sitting on the judgment seat, his wife sent word to him, “Have nothing to do with that righteous man, for I have suffered much because of him today in a dream.”  Now the chief priests and the elders persuaded the crowd to ask for Barabbas and destroy Jesus.  The governor again said to them, “Which of the two do you want me to release for you?”  And they said, “Barabbas.”  Pilate said to them, “Then what shall I do with Jesus who is called Christ?”  They all said, “Let him be crucified!”  And he said, “Why?  What evil has he done?”  But they shouted all the more, “Let him be crucified!”

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So when Pilate saw that he was gaining nothing, but rather that a riot was beginning, he took water and washed his hands before the crowd, saying, “I am innocent of this man's blood; see to it yourselves.”  And all the people answered, “His blood be on us and on our children!”  Then he released for them Barabbas, and having scourged Jesus, delivered him to be crucified.

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Then the soldiers of the governor took Jesus into the governor's headquarters, and they gathered the whole battalion before him.  And they stripped him and put a scarlet robe on him, and twisting together a crown of thorns, they put it on his head and put a reed in his right hand. And kneeling before him, they mocked him, saying, “Hail, King of the Jews!”  And they spit on him and took the reed and struck him on the head.  And when they had mocked him, they stripped him of the robe and put his own clothes on him and led him away to crucify him.

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(End of passage)

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In the previous passage, Jesus was betrayed by Judas, denied by Peter, and even betrayed by the religious leaders of his country.  The chief priests not only brought false witnesses, a violation of one of the 10 commandments, but they also broke their own rules by holding a trial at night and on a festival day.

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Now the Jews could not execute a death sentence.  This had to be handed down or authorized by the Roman governor.  The Roman governor is unlikely to sentence anyone to death unless it is something serious like leading a rebellion or sedition.  Yet, the Roman governor would feel constrained to please the Jews because otherwise they would have a real rebellion on their hands.  So, now the Jews take Jesus to Pilate.

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Verses 1-2,

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When morning came, all the chief priests and the elders of the people took counsel against Jesus to put him to death.  And they bound him and led him away and delivered him over to Pilate the governor.

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So the chief priests and elders already decided to put Jesus to death.  But they cannot hand down this sentence.  They have to get Pilate to do that.  In the previous passage, they accuse Jesus of blasphemy, but it is doubtful that Pilate would sentence Jesus to death for that reason.

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Meanwhile, Judas finds out that Jesus was condemned.  Somehow, the chief priests will be able to convince Pilate to sentence him to death.  Let’s see how Judas reacts to that.

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Verses 3-10,

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Then when Judas, his betrayer, saw that Jesus was condemned, he changed his mind and brought back the thirty pieces of silver to the chief priests and the elders, saying, “I have sinned by betraying innocent blood.”  They said, “What is that to us?  See to it yourself.”  And throwing down the pieces of silver into the temple, he departed, and he went and hanged himself.  But the chief priests, taking the pieces of silver, said, “It is not lawful to put them into the treasury, since it is blood money.”  So they took counsel and bought with them the potter's field as a burial place for strangers.  Therefore that field has been called the Field of Blood to this day.  Then was fulfilled what had been spoken by the prophet Jeremiah, saying, “And they took the thirty pieces of silver, the price of him on whom a price had been set by some of the sons of Israel, and they gave them for the potter's field, as the Lord directed me.”

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How did Judas react to all this?

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He hung himself.

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He fulfilled the prophesy from Zechariah 11:12-13.

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What does this tell us about Judas?

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Perhaps he didn’t know that the chief priests intended to have Jesus killed.  Why wouldn’t he think that they were going to kill Jesus?  Probably because he did not lead an armed rebellion.  Jesus was peaceful, so he deserved to be dealt with peacefully.

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What is the hypocrisy of the chief priests here?

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Even though they are the ones that paid the blood money to have Jesus betrayed and falsely accused for a death penalty, they couldn’t put that same money back into the treasury because it was blood money.  Thus they condemn themselves.  They obeyed their own laws by not accepting blood money, but they broke God’s laws by bearing false witness and conspiring to kill someone.

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Meanwhile, Jesus is still at the governor’s place being questioned by Pilate.

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Verses 11-14,

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Now Jesus stood before the governor, and the governor asked him, “Are you the King of the Jews?”  Jesus said, “You have said so.”  But when he was accused by the chief priests and elders, he gave no answer.  Then Pilate said to him, “Do you not hear how many things they testify against you?”  But he gave him no answer, not even to a single charge, so that the governor was greatly amazed.

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Now, when it says here that Jesus gave no answer to the chief priests, it does not mean he answered none of their questions.  It just means that he did not answer this question, “Are you king of the Jews?”

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What is the significance that Jesus answers this question for Pilate, but not the chief priests?

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If Jesus had answered this question for the chief priests, it would have sealed his fate then and there.  They could have told Pilate that he was leading an insurrection.  This could have sent him directly to the cross without Pilate questioning him.  For some reason, Jesus must have wanted Pilate to question him.  The gospel of John has more detail about the questioning from Pilate.  Perhaps Jesus wanted an opportunity to witness to Pilate.  One tradition has Pilate becoming a Christian after he is relieved of his duty in Judea.  Then he settled in Ethiopia and helped to further the gospel there.

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Why was the governor amazed when he brought up the things that the chief priests accused him of?  Most people would have tried to defend themselves.  Jesus did not – why?  Jesus could not say that he wasn’t the Messiah.  He was also fulfilling prophesy.

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Isaiah 53:7,

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He was oppressed, and he was afflicted, yet he opened not his mouth; like a lamb that is led to the slaughter, and like a sheep that before its shearers is silent, so he opened not his mouth.

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Now in the picture below, you see a replica of the Old city of Jerusalem.